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Five quality heads were recovered hanging from ropes connected a formation successful southwestern Ecuador, constabulary said connected Sunday (January 11, 2026), arsenic the state reels from a question of unit related to cause trafficking.
Images published by Ecuadorian media outlets showed the bloody scene. Next to the heads was a informing motion directed astatine alleged extortionists of fishermen successful the tiny sportfishing larboard of Puerto Lopez. The ropes were fixed to woody poles connected the beach.
A constabulary study attributed the incidental to a struggle betwixt transgression groups.
Drug-trafficking networks with links to transnational cartels are progressive successful the country and person utilized fishermen and their tiny boats for their illicit activities, according to authorities.
A quality for territory and power of drug-trafficking routes has triggered convulsive episodes crossed the Manabi province, wherever Puerto Lopez is located.
Police connected Saturday (January 10, 2026) said that they had carried retired power and surveillance operations successful Puerto Lopez amid an ongoing authorities of exigency enforced successful 9 of the Andean country's 24 provinces, including Manabi.
The authorities of exigency seeks to incorporate the spiral of violence, particularly successful coastal areas, and restricts definite civilian rights.
Police controls successful Puerto Lopez accrued aft a massacre near six radical dormant 2 weeks ago. A 2nd equipped onslaught 3 days aboriginal near the aforesaid fig of dormant successful Manta, besides successful the state of Manabi.
Ecuador has been engulfed successful a question of unit for much than 4 years aft becoming a logistical centre for the retention and organisation of drugs that participate chiefly done the bluish borderline with Colombia and the confederate borderline with Peru.
2025 was Ecuador's astir convulsive twelvemonth connected record, with much than 9,000 homicides according to authoritative figures, surpassing the grounds acceptable successful 2023 with 8,248 deaths.
